Episode 1 : Life Goes On
by Garnet Quill
Summary: The demise of Sunnydale saw the departure of many Scoobies but life goes on for those that survived, and some that didn't.
1. We'll Take it From Here

**Episode 1: Life Goes On**

**Chapter 1: **_**We'll Take It From Here**_

The bed felt uncomfortably new underneath her as she lay there, lost in her reflections. It was painful for her, but Giles said it would really help to ease her mind. Willow even gave her an amulet to store some of the more troubling and painful thoughts and memories. It was agonizing to siphon through all the memories and find the ones that needed to be locked up and out of her head. It wasn't an easy task; the last few weeks, no months, have been full of bad memories. She slowly opened the door wider into her head and entered, losing herself completely in her own mind.

"It almost looks painful." Willow said, standing in the doorway with Giles. Willow watched as a flurry of emotions flicked across Buffy's face.

"She's got a lot of bad stuff up there, she's carrying more than any of the rest of us." Giles replied, watching Buffy as well. His look of concern grew deeper as he watched Buffy flinch at some unseen terror. "This will be good for her though. Maybe now she'll be able to rest a little; she needs it." Giles leaned up off the doorframe and uncrossed his chest. "C'mon, we have a lot to do today." He patted Willow on the back and turned away from the room and the sight of Buffy lying on the bed.

Willow looked once more at the somber image before turning to follow Giles down the hallway. "Has anyone from the Council called yet?" She asked, catching up with him.

"I haven't heard from them yet, but I expect to any time now." He explained. He exhaled loudly and shook his head. He could hear the clatter coming from the crowd that was just waking up. He exhaled again and sat down at the top of the stairs. "There are too many people here." He said sounding utterly exhausted.

"I'm sure that it would help ease the stress of everyone to get them settled. It would also help with the healing process." She told him, resting her head lightly on his shoulder.

"We should probably send the girls home to wait for the Council to regroup. It will take them some time to get back up and running. Too long for everyone to stay here." Giles pulled off his glasses and began cleaning them methodically, the irritation evident on his face.

The tension in the house was practically palpable. There were no casual conversations or chatting. The only time anyone talked was for the necessary remarks. Most spent their time watching television, writing to family or in diaries. The guys spend a lot of time out of the house, buying some needed item, or "looking for a job". The only thing comfortable about the situation was that the house was usually quite; while it wasn't peaceful, there was no fighting or arguing yet. But it was crowded, very crowded, and there was no privacy; each day the tension in the close quarters grew. Giles was definitely eager to disperse the group before anything came to a head. "I'm going to make some phone calls and see what kind of plans I can make. Why don't you go coordinate breakfast?" Giles said, raising from his seated position and heading to his door.

"Great! Leave me with the dirty work." Willow said, with a slight grin, and started down the stairs.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw that everybody was already up and crowded into the small area; some were seated at the dinning table, others at the breakfast bar. Cereal, milk, bowls and spoons littered every surface, and quite munching was all that could be heard. Willow felt as if she was interrupting some sort of viewing. Dawn looked up from her bowl at Willow and smiled. She scooted over in her chair so that she could share the seat, and Willow walked over and sat down. "Did we have enough cereal and milk?" Willow asked, taking a bite of Dawn's Cap'n Crunch. She handed back the spoon after Dawn nodded, and looked up at the rest of the group. "Okay, so today we have to do a major cleaning of the house. The bedrooms need to be straightened, laundry done, house vacuumed. You know all that fun stuff." With that said, she went back to talking to Dawn and Xander.

"There won't be enough breakfast food for tomorrow. Someone will probably have to go shopping again today." Xander said, with an almost happy glee on his face. "I would be glad to go."

"I'll go with him. To get the things that guys don't think of." Dawn said, dropping her spoon in the empty bowl in front of her. "I'm not staying here to be forced to clean that room. I didn't make any of that mess."

"Okay Dawn." Willow told her patting her arm. "You go with Xander. I really want the bedrooms done in order for the girls to get all their stuff together. Giles is working on getting everyone back home to their families until the Council gets back up and running."

"Well who all is going to stay here?" Dawn asked, picking up her bowl, and getting out of the chair.

"I don't know Dawn." Willow answered with a solemn shake of her head.

---

Buffy and Willow sat crossed-legged beside each other on the bed. Neither was really talking, not aloud anyway. Willow was not exactly sure how it happened; one minute, she was putting a pile of Buffy's clean laundry on her dresser for her, the next she was sitting here helping Buffy sift through her thoughts.

It was just as painful as Willow imagined it was, and she found herself immensely thankful that she didn't have to do this alone. Uncontrolled tears streamed down Willow's face as the final battled scene played out before her. Buffy had seen everything, every death. She felt a slight shutter in the ling between them as Buffy transplanted these painful memories into the amulet. The sensation was odd, and although she had felt it a few times before now, she could still not quite get used to it. As she watched Spike tell Buffy that he knew she would never love him, Willow braced herself for the shutter, but it never came. Instead she felt a clipped jerk as Buffy severed the connection. "Everything after is more of a blur." Buffy said, lying back against the pillow. "You probably remember it better than I do."

It was true Buffy definitely was not completely there during the bus ride to the Initiatives complex in L.A., and she wasn't an active member of the agreement party when the Initiative gave them the house to use here in Cleveland. She barely spoke to Angel when he and his gang came by to help get things settled. Willow truly hoped that with most of the painful memories gone, Buffy would get back to normal. Her help would be needed to help get everything settled the rest of the way.

With a large sigh, Buffy sat back up and hugged her knees to her chest. "So what is everybody up to?" She asked casually, all genuine interest was lacking in her voice.

"Well I have all the girls downstairs cleaning, slash getting all their things together. I think that Faith and Robin are still holed up in their room. Dawn, Xander, and Andrew went to the store, and Giles is in his room making phone calls."

"Wow, everyone is really busy." Buffy said with a yawn.

"I was doing laundry before I sat down to help you, and I should really get back to actually." Willow stretched out her legs and swung them over the side of the bed.

"What do you want me to do?" Buffy asked, following suit and sitting up, swinging her legs over the bed.

"Nothing Buff. You just need to relax and maybe rest." Willow told her. She patted Buffy's leg, before picking them up and putting them back on the bed. She adjusted the pillows and laid Buffy's head down on them.


	2. Off We Go

**Chapter 2: **_**Off We Go**_

The next morning dawned bright and much too soon for Buffy. It felt as if she had just dosed off when she heard the raucous coming from downstairs. She slowly stretched out in her bed, and was surprised to realize that she wasn't all stiff and tense anymore. Giles' idea of displacing her unsettling memories really did help. She slept better last night than she had in months, and she felt much better for it. With rejuvenated energy she climbed out of bed and walked to her closet to get ready. In a few short seconds she was cleaned, dressed, and ready to face the day. . It felt good. Really good. She smiled a true smile and headed down the stairs. She headed for the kitchen with a light step and a high spirit. "What the..." Buffy stumbled slightly to keep from falling on her face, and pushed herself into the wall instead. Regaining her balance, she turned around and saw a massive pile of bags and suitcases lying in the middle of the hallway, just in to the side of the front door. She frowned at it confusingly before turning the corner and entering the kitchen, where she could hear the anxious voices of the others that had already gathered there.

"What is with the pile in the hallway? I almost tripped over them coming around the corner." Buffy said in a whiny voice. She plopped down on the stool at the breakfast bar. She could already taste the bacon and eggs that Andrew was cooking and it made her mouth start to water. It had been a long time since she last ate a decent meal and she was surprised to realize that she was actually hungry for one. She looked around the small kitchen at everyone gathered around. "Well, does any one care to explain the huge mess or are you just going to leave me to guess?"

"It's the girls stuff. Most of them are flying out this morning and the ones that aren't, are flying out this afternoon." Dawn said raising a plate to ask her if she wanted some breakfast.

Buffy nodded her head in response and Andrew started piling a load of eggs and bacon and toast onto the plate. Dawn sat the plate down in front of Buffy and went to the cabinet to get a cup out; she poured some milk into it and placed that down next to the plate. Willow came around and took the stool next to Buffy.

"Where is everyone going? What of the ones that don't have family left?" Buffy asked Willow quietly. She was sure that Giles and Willow had already worked things out but she wanted to know what was to become of all the girls she had grown so attached to lately.

"Well the ones that left family to come to Sunnydale are going back to their families. And for the ones that didn't have family left are headed to England. The council, while not completely regrouped, has set up a temporary facility to house all the girls coming in from all around the world. They are developing a boarding school to house them all in the future." Willow seemed pleased with the idea.

Buffy had to admit that it was a good idea, one that would be best for everyone involved. The girls would be safe and get some much-needed training before being sent out into the field. "So who all is staying here?"

"Uh, well actually I don't know. All we really know right now is that all the girls are leaving." Willow said looking around at the older members of the group.

"Even Kennedy?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Yes, even Kennedy. She's going to be an instructor at the school, what with her experience and what have you. We both decided that it would be for the best of both of us. I'm sure that we'll catch up again later." Willow said. She sounded happy about the idea, but it was a little forced.

Buffy knew that Willow and Kennedy had grown close, but she figured it was more a convenient thing to help get them through. They would both move on once they got settled into their new lives. Buffy nodded her head at nothing particular and then gave her full attention to the fantastic smelling food in front of her. Everyone had quieted down around her and was also concentrated on eating their breakfast.

-----

The airport was crowded, and loud, and Buffy hated it. And she still had all day here to look forward to. Her sanity was kept in tact by the thought that at least her house wouldn't seem like this anymore. Although she would miss the girls, she wouldn't miss the lines outside the bathroom in the morning, nor coming down last to breakfast only to find that there was barely any left. She glanced over at Willow standing ridged as the next flight was announced. It was Kennedy's flight back home. Buffy was not sure exactly what had passed between the two before they came to the mutual decision that she should go to England, but she sensed that it wasn't all bad. Tears stung the back of her eyes as Willow and Kennedy gave each other a last kiss. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud sigh from her left. The remaining girls, including Dawn, were staring at the two of them, and the sigh, as Buffy had originally thought, was not in aggravation. It was more of an "Ah, they're so cute" sigh, and Buffy agreed with them.

Giles and Xander stood away from the group, staring at the two openly embracing women. Being the only men to come to the airport, they did not feel the same about the public display as the girls did. Xander scratched his head nervously, and found many small, unnoticeable specks to pick off his sleeve. Giles stood wiping his glasses, and when he could do that no longer, without looking like a fool, went over to check the departure board.

Giles appeared to be the only one to hear the final call for Kennedy, and coughed loudly. When that did nothing he approached Buffy. "Uh, she really must be going now, I don't think she'll want to miss her flight." He told her, uncomfortably.

"You're right." Was all Buffy said in response, and it took her a moment more to walk the few steps to where Willow and Kennedy still embraced each other. She lightly tapped Willow on the shoulder, and pointed to the gate, where a stewardess stood staring at them. "She's going to miss it." She said, with a weak smile on her face.

She waited for Willow to let Kennedy to go, before stepping forward and giving her a strong hug of her own, and then took a step back to allow the others to do so. They all waved at Kennedy one last time before she boarded, and the girls giving the usual shouted promise of keeping in touch.

And so the day went on, each girl boarding after many hugs, a few tears, and an arm-tiring amount of waves. It was almost five o'clock in the evening before the final two girls boarded their flights. The gang had just plopped down in seats to watch the last plane take off when Robin and Faith approached them, both carrying plane tickets of their own. Buffy looked up at them with a quizzical look. "You two are leaving as well?"

Robin smiled and fanned himself with his ticket. "I'm in the mood for travel." He said with a smile. "I think I might set out and do some freelance demon killing of my own. And Faith here decided to tag along. I hope it's not too heartbreaking to have to give us up."

"Of course it is, but I think that you two will enjoy yourselves."

Robin and Faith were catching a red eye flight back to LA, were they were to be greeted by Angel and his crew before heading out to where ever else they wanted to go. The farewell was brief, for everyone was tired, and Buffy and Faith shared a last hug.

"We'll call when we get in B. I promise. And I'll send you many souvenirs from our trips." She added, with a large smile.

"You better because I don't see myself getting out much. I think I might actually have to find a real job." She said with her own smile, and then a frown. She hugged Faith one last time, and walked with them to the gate. "Take care you two. And don't forget to call the moment you land."

They walked silently through the airport, heading back to the parking lot, that is, until Dawn spook up and said, "Hey, Buff, can I get a gyro?"


	3. She's Back

**Chapter 3: **_**She's Back**_

Everyone squeezed back into the car, gyros in hand and ready to get home and sleep off the stress from the day spent at the airport. It was quiet in car, everyone busily munching on their food that is until Dawn let a little drip of sauce land square in her lap. "Dawn! Really, if you're going to wear my pants…" Buffy exclaimed, frantically trying to wipe off the stain before it could really set in. "You'll be eating nothing but bread and apples whenever you borrow clothes from now on. I mean, seriously… every time…" Buffy trailed off. She licked a napkin and tried again to remove the stain from the knee of her favorite pair of jeans. "I would never spill anything on something I borrowed from you…"

Dawn gave a slight shriek, remembering back to her favorite sweater Buffy spilled coffee on not too long ago. "Buffy, it's fine; it'll come out in the laundry." Dawn had grown annoyed with the increasingly painful slaps coming from the napkin Buffy wielded, and brushed Buffy's hands away. She crossed her arms and pretended to pout, and conveniently covering the small spot on the shirt she had also borrowed from Buffy. Dawn made a mental note not to eat gyros in the backseat while wearing Buffy's clothes before laying her head on the window.

"Buffy, really, it's just a spot, it'll come out."Xander said, patting her shoulder. "Besides if it doesn't you can just go shopping for some new clothes, you know, with all your free time you have now and stuff."

"Free time, I do have." Buffy said. "It's the free money I need to work on. Do you think I'll ever see the insurance from my house?" She asked, while crumpling up the wrapper from her gyro and throwing it in the bag.

"You know, Buff, I don't think your insurance covers an entire town falling off the face of the earth, especially if you make that happen yourself." Xander told her, a little matter-of-factly.

"Well I didn't exactly put that on the claim, you know." Buffy replied, "Cause of Accident: Uh, well I blew up the town in an effort to save the world from complete demonic domination." She cocked her head, and smiled, "Come to think of it, I probably should have put that; I might have gotten some sort of hero settlement or something!"

"Well, we didn't exactly blow it up, more like down. But I see where you're going with that. I'm just glad I don't have to replace anymore of the windows in that place" Xander told her. Buffy could see his rant face coming, and new she better divert the conversation before she had to hear about the parameters of the frames, and the holding capacity of the plates, it was a little too much right now.

"Uh, so Willow, are you going to look for some schools around here to start in the fall?" Buffy asked quickly, and looking straight ahead, so she wouldn't see the hurt look on Xander's face.

"I don't know yet, Buff, I was thinking about it. I can't really send for my transcripts though. I'm going to talk around with a few people and see what I can do." Willow, shook her head and continued driving. School was a big thing on her mind these last few days, and she wanted nothing more than to go back. She promised herself that she would be in school for the fall semester though.

Giles patted her shoulder, "We'll get you there Willow, I promise!" He said. "I guess we all should start trying to get settled here, I think this will be a good place for us. This place could definitely use our help." Giles was looking out the window at the buildings as they went by. To the naked eye, the buildings just looked like had graffiti on the them, but Giles new that some of those marks were more than just the handiwork of delinquent teens, and rival gangs.

It was another half-hour drive before they got home. Dawn had dozed off with her head on the window. Willow was in her own world, driving and thinking about her plans for the future. Xander, Buffy, and Giles all spent the last part of the trip talking about the Council, the gang, and Xander even started talking about the job an old co-worker had lined up for him. Everyone was pretty distracted when they pulled the car into the garage. No one really noticed the person standing on the door step, demanding to be let in.

Everyone piled out of the car and into the house. Buffy made a stop at the trash can to throw the gyro bag away, and was the last one in. No one was in the kitchen when she walked through the door, so she followed the sounds of Andrew's voice coming from the front door.

"I don't know what it wants. It just keeps demanding to be let in." Andrew exclaimed frantically. "I'm not letting it in. Tell it to go away." He looked through the window at the top of the door and stepped back quickly. "It's still out there, stomping its non-corporeal foot. It has surprisingly good taste in shoes though." He said, turning his back to the door and staring wildly at everyone.

"Andrew what are you going on about?" Buffy asked, pushing him out of the way of the window, so she could get a look. "What the…"

---

"What, what is it Buffy?" Willow and Giles both asked, stepping up to the window.

"Oh, my!" Willow exclaimed.

"Yes, oh, my indeed." Giles added before wiping his glasses and looking again. Apparently satisfied with the state of his lenses and the fact that he was seeing clearly, he stepped aside and scratched his head. "Well this doesn't make any sense."

"What are you people looking at?" Dawn said, before half nudging Giles out of the way to get a look for herself. "Oh" was all she said, and she stepped back from the door. "Really, I was hoping for a few more, you know centuries before we would have to worry about this again."

"So was I." Buffy replied without taking her eyes away from the window. "Do you think it's come to apologize for ruining our plans at the mall?" She asked, looking sideways at Willow.

"Will you people just let me in? I see all of you staring out the window. I'm not stupid I know you're home. Not let me in."

"Anya?" Xander asked from the back of the pack. He hadn't stepped up to the window to look yet, but now he pushed everyone out of the way and swung the door open. "But you… I mean… Andrew said…"

---

"You listened to that little dweeb?" She said, walking through the now open front door.

Not sure what else to do, everyone stepped out of her way, and Xander shut the door behind her. Everyone just stood there gawping; nothing particularly important to say came to anyone's mind. Xander was the first to speak, "Anya is that really you?" He asked, reaching out to touch her.

"No it's the other sexy ex-demon you know." She said, as Xander's hand went right through her arm.

"But I saw you fall." Andrew said, "And not get up. What are you doing here?"

"Well I couldn't really stay in Sunnydale now could I? What with there not being anything left there. If you're letting Andrew stay with you guys, then I should be able to as well." Anya stated flatly.

"Okay so that's why you're here, now, how are you here. I saw that bringer slice right through you." Andrew spoke up, from behind Buffy, standing up from his seat. "You know, from your shoulder to your hip. It was actually pretty gross."

"Oh that!" Anya exclaimed mildly, brushing away the comment, and incident, with a slight wave of her hand. "Look, you don't spend hundreds of years as a demon, and not make a few friends in low places. I pulled a few strings, and here I am." She looked up thoughtfully before adding. "They are still working on my body though. I hope that doesn't take overly too long." She said, the last bit more to herself than the assembled group. "I plan on hanging around for awhile." She told them, with a matter of fact nod.

Dawn sniggered and everyone turned to look at her. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her she explained her outburst, "Get it? _Hanging around_?" Everyone gave her a puzzled stare, forcing her to explain further, "She's a _ghost_ and she's _hanging around_." Everyone continued to stare, and Anya glared. "That's not what you were going for? My bad." Dawn said, looking at her feet. Everyone focused on Anya again. "Well I thought it was funny."


End file.
